Private pension holders are buzzing about PensionBee. It makes investing in your future simple and easy, even if you tend to swap jobs often and have accounts with lots of different pension providers. Discover Pension Bee\u2019s pension investment options, what PensionBee\u2019s customers think and what charges you can expect.<\/p>
PensionBee is a personal pension provider with a key selling point of simplification. If you\u2019ve previously contributed to a number of workplace and personal pensions, it helps you to consolidate them by transferring them into a new online plan. Alternatively, if you\u2019re self-employed, you can start a new PensionBee plan from scratch. <\/p>
PensionBee\u2019s website and app give you an overview of your plan with a balance and your projected retirement income, depending on when you plan to retire. You can also easily increase contributions should you wish to sweeten your retirement pot a little. As a nice little sweetener, if you refer a friend who opens an account, PensionBee will put \u00a3100 into your pension pot.<\/p>
If you have any existing pension plans, PensionBee tracks them down and transfers them into one easy-to-use pot. If you\u2019re self-employed and haven\u2019t paid into a pension before, you can open an account without transferring in any other pensions.<\/p>
If any of your old pension plans have guaranteed benefits that you\u2019d lose by switching, or require an exit fee of \u00a310 or more to transfer to PensionBee, your own pension expert \u2013 fittingly named a \u2018BeeKeeper\u2019 \u2013 will let you know and get your permission before completing the transfer.<\/p>
You can pay into your pension plan with either one-off or regular contributions. There\u2019s no minimum contribution so you can drip feed small amounts in as and when you can afford to. You can set up payments into your plan via a standing order, or make one-off bank transfers.<\/p>
As with all UK pensions, you get tax relief from the money you pay in, based on the amount of income tax you usually pay. There are 8 different plans on offer that you can choose between. You\u2019re not locked into a beehive and free to switch plans whenever you want. <\/p>
Once you reach pension access age, PensionBee also offers the option to set up a pension drawdown, or to buy an annuity through its partner, Legal & General. <\/p>
PensionBee has a simple annual management fee, which can vary depending on the plan you choose. Unlike some other pension providers, it will not charge you an exit fee should you decide to move your retirement pot elsewhere.<\/p>
If your pension pot size is larger than \u00a3100,000, PensionBee will cut its standard fee in half for the portion of your savings over this amount.<\/p>
Your annual fee is calculated daily and automatically deducted from your account each month. There\u2019s a handy calculator on the PensionBee site to show you how much each plan will cost you, depending on the amount you have in your pension pot.<\/p>
Separately from PensionBee\u2019s charges, you may also incur transaction costs from the fund managers that look after your plan. These range from 0.00% to 0.14%, depending on the plan you choose (but can vary regularly). <\/p>
You can choose between 8 investment plans, which are managed by some of the world\u2019s biggest investment firms, such as BlackRock and HSBC. The plans are all given a risk\/reward rating of lower, medium or higher to help you decide which one to go for. Plans in the \u201clower\u201d category are less likely to result in big losses, but the potential rewards are lower. Meanwhile plans in the \u201chigher\u201d category have higher growth potential, but stand a higher chance of falling in value if the market (or specific companies) perform poorly.<\/p>
Below are the 8 investment plans in a bit more detail:<\/p>
| Fund Name<\/th> | Fund Manager<\/th> | Description<\/th> | Risk\/Reward Rating<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preserve<\/td> | State Street Global Advisors<\/td> | A plan that invests your money into lower-risk assets that typically experience smaller fluctuations in value, such as bonds.<\/td> | Lower<\/td><\/tr> |
| 4Plus<\/td> | State Street Global Advisors<\/td> | A plan with a balanced approach to growth for the short or medium term where money is invested in a mix of assets and assets are actively adjusted on a weekly basis.<\/td> | Medium<\/td><\/tr> |
| Tailored<\/td> | BlackRock<\/td> | A plan that starts out investing for growth, and moves your money into safer assets as you near retirement.<\/td> | Medium<\/td><\/tr> |
| Tracker<\/td> | State Street Global Advisors<\/td> | A cost-effective \u201cset and forget\u201d plan that follows the world\u2019s leading market indices.<\/td> | Medium<\/td><\/tr> |
| Fossil Fuel Free<\/td> | Legal & General<\/td> | A sustainability-focused fund that tracks the FTSE All-World Transition Pathway Initiative. It excludes fossil fuels, tobacco and other controversial sectors.<\/td> | Higher<\/td><\/tr> |
| Impact<\/td> | BlackRock<\/td> | An ethical plan that actively invests only in companies that address the world\u2019s great social and environmental needs.<\/td> | Higher<\/td><\/tr> |
| Pre-Annuity<\/td> | State Street Global Advisors<\/td> | Invests your money in bonds to provide you with returns that broadly correspond to the cost of purchasing an annuity.<\/td> | Higher<\/td><\/tr> |
| Shariah<\/td> | HSBC Global Asset Management and State Street Global Advisors<\/td> | A plan meant for people who only want to invest in Shariah-compliant companies.<\/td> | Higher<\/td><\/tr><\/table>How can you manage the PensionBee pension?<\/h3>Once you\u2019ve opened an account, selected a pension plan, and transferred in any existing pensions that you want to, PensionBee\u2019s pension requires very little management. <\/p> You can view your live balance online in your PensionBee account (your \u201cBeeHive\u201d) and check the performance of your pension. You can also check your retirement planner, which forecasts your predicted savings by the time you retire. <\/p> You can also use your BeeHive to make or amend contributions, switch pension plans if you want to, select pension beneficiaries, transfer in more pensions, and update your personal details.<\/p> Withdrawing your pension<\/h4>Once you reach the point of wanting to access your pension (age 55, rising to 57 from 2028), PensionBee offers two options.<\/p> Firstly, you can leave your money invested in any of PensionBee\u2019s plans, and use PensionBee\u2019s drawdown service. This lets you take money out of your pension as and when you like. You can take 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free lump sum (or in instalments). The rest will be subject to income tax at your individual rate. PensionBee doesn\u2019t charge any fees for using its drawdown service. <\/p> Secondly, if you\u2019d prefer to buy an annuity that provides a regular fixed income for life, you could consider buying one through PensionBee\u2019s annuity partner \u2013 Legal & General. <\/p> A couple of things to note here. If you withdraw your full pension pot within a year of transferring it to PensionBee, you\u2019ll incur a fixed withdrawal fee of \u00a3150. <\/p> Also, you\u2019re under no obligation to use PensionBee\u2019s drawdown or annuity options. Your pension will have to last you for several decades, with luck. So even if you\u2019ve been contributing to a PensionBee pension for years and are very happy with its services, it\u2019s always worth shopping around and comparing your options for taking money out. <\/p> Transferring a pension to PensionBee<\/h3>When you join PensionBee, you\u2019re asked to give as many details as you can about all the pension plans you currently hold, and the team at PensionBee will see if they can find them for you. It takes 12 weeks on average to transfer in a pension.<\/p> If you\u2019ve forgotten who your current providers are (easily done), you can give PensionBee information about your previous employers. Then its experts will check its database to find your pension providers.<\/p> If your other pension schemes have exit fees of more than \u00a310, or come with special benefits that you could lose in a transfer, PensionBee will inform you before going ahead. Benefits may include things like a guaranteed annuity rate or a fixed income from a final salary scheme. If pensions with such benefits have a total value of more than \u00a330,000, you\u2019ll be required to seek professional advice before transferring them.<\/p> You don\u2019t have to transfer all of your previous pensions to PensionBee to get started. If you\u2019re employed, you only need to transfer one previous pension over. If you\u2019re self-employed, you can start a brand new pension from scratch, without transferring over any other pensions. <\/p> The only pensions that you can\u2019t transfer into PensionBee are most public service pensions, which the government doesn\u2019t allow to be transferred (and international pensions). <\/p> Is PensionBee safe?<\/h3>In its relatively short lifespan (since 2014), PensionBee has attracted more than 200,000 customers. <\/p> PensionBee is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and is bound by the FCA\u2019s rules and regulations in the conduct of its investment business.<\/p> It is also covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection, which means your pension is covered up to \u00a3120,000 if PensionBee were to go bust.<\/p> Bear in mind that no investments, including pensions, are completely risk-free. The value of investments can go down as well as up. That said, pensions are usually the longest-term investments you\u2019ll ever make. Over many years (or decades) your investments have a good chance of riding out any market volatility. <\/p> PensionBee customer service and reviews<\/h3>Once your PensionBee plan is set up, you can access it at any time on the website or the app to see how it\u2019s performing. If you have further questions and need to speak to one of the BeeKeepers, the company offers a dedicated customer service phone line or live chat.<\/p> As part of its vision \u201cto make pensions simple, so that everyone can look forward to a happy retirement\u201d, PensionBee promotes financial freedom, good health, and social inclusion. <\/p> While this might sound unusual coming from the traditionally staid and serious financial services industry, it\u2019s an ethos that its customers seem to appreciate. <\/p> On consumer review platform Trustpilot PensionBee scores 4.6 out of 5 and an \u201cexcellent\u201d rating, based on more than 10,000 reviews (as of June 2024). Not too shabby. <\/p> Recent positive reviews highlight PensionBee\u2019s simple, user-friendly setup and pension transfer process, excellent communication and helpful support staff. As with any company, there are a few customers who had a less positive experience with customer service. To its credit, PensionBee takes the time to respond to 100% of negative reviews. <\/p> Who is the PensionBee pension suited to?<\/h3>If you\u2019ve got lots of old pension pots knocking about and want to consolidate them into a simple pension scheme with reasonable costs, PensionBee is well worth considering as it takes a lot of the hassle out of tracking down and transferring your existing pension pots. <\/p> It\u2019s also a decent option for self-employed people looking to set up a new pension that requires minimal effort to manage. <\/p> It\u2019s probably not suitable for you if you\u2019re:<\/p>
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